Few parents
and educators learn about legal rights and responsibilities by reading
the law (statutes, regulations and cases). Most get information (and misinformation)
from training sessions, articles, advice on listservs, and informal discussions
with others. Your knowledge can rise no higher than your source!

To be an
effective advocate for a child, you need to know the law. You also need
to know how to use the law without
starting no-win battles.

In What's
Your IEP IQ?, Pete Wright teaches you how to find answers to questions
in the law. What's
Your IEP IQ? includes an IEP Quiz with 18 questions (and answers)
to test your knowledge of IEPs. When
you finish the IEP Quiz, you can send an email to Wrightslaw to receive
the correct answers.

"Your presentation was incredibly informative ... and FUN! Time
just flew by." - Stella, New York"Thanks for the most informative seminar I ever attended. I learned
so much!" Linda, Colorado

Virginia
Beach: November 12-13, 2004

This nine-hour program will be held at the Virginia Beach Higher Education
Center, 1881 University Drive, Virginia Beach, VA. The program is sponsored
by Commonwealth Autism Services & the Autism Society of America, Tidewater
Chapter. CLEs: The Virginia Bar approved
this conference for 9.0 credit hours. Learn
more & register.

This six-hour
program will be held at the Nigh University Center Ballroom, University
of Central Oklahoma, Edmond, OK. The program is sponsored by The Oklahoma
Disability Law Center, Redlands Partners, and Oklahomans FOR IDEA &
504 COMPLIANCE.
Learn more & download registration form.

"The
Wrightslaw Special Education Law Seminar in Michigan was a tremendously
rewarding experience and will forever change our practice." -
Bryan I. Eder, Esq., Chudnof
& Eder, PLCIf
you are interested in bringing a Wrightslaw program to your community,
please read FAQs
about Seminars. (We are now scheduling programs for 2006.)

4.
Teaching a Child to Read: Reading First or Special Ed?

"My
child is in 2nd grade and receives special education for reading. He just
got an F in reading. When
we asked that he get extra help in the Reading First program, we were
told he couldn't be in special ed and Reading First. Are children
prohibited from getting help in Reading First if they are in special ed?"

How
can you get good goals and objectives in your child's IEP? What can you
do if the school wants to use subjective "teacher observations," not objective
testing in the IEP? How can parents avoid "methodology disputes?"

Confused at IEP meetings? Do you find that your questions are not answered?
In How
to Use a Parent IEP Attachment, advocate
Judy Bonnell teaches you how to use a simple form to track your requests,
the school's response, issues that were resolved and issues that are still
on the table.

When
asked what they need most, teachers say they need behavior management skills.
Why
Johnny Doesn't Behaveprovides
useful tips to help teachers manage behavior. Learn to make expectations
clear, teach expectations, minimize attention for inappropriate behaviors,
and pay attention to behavior you want. The section about Functional Behavior
Assessments (FBAs) and Behavioral Intervention Plans (BIPs) includes sample
FBAs and BIPs.8.
Symposium on Educating At-Risk Children: October 29, 2004
Suzanne Heath, research editor for Wrightslaw and co-author of Wrightslaw:
No Child Left Behind, will present at the Symposium
on Educating At-Risk Children on Friday, October 29, 2004. The Symposium
will be held at the UDC David A. Clarke School of Law in Washington, DC.
Learn more.

Ms. Heath
is available to do training and seminars on No Child Left Behind and creative
strategies to advocate for children and improve public schools. Learn
more

9.
Find Help & Helpers at Yellow Pages for Kids

At the Yellow
Pages for Kids with Disabilities, you will find helpful information
in one place.Your state Yellow
Pages lists different resources - educational consultants, psychologists,
diagnosticians, health care specialists, academic tutors, speech language
therapists, advocates, and attorneys. You will also find government programs,
grassroots organizations, special education schools, and parent support
groups.

Strategy: Ask
your school, public library, day care center, and support group to post
the Yellow
Pages Flyer on their bulletin boards and websites. Ask
your child's teacher to post the Yellow
Pages flyer in the teacher's lounge and guidance office. Ask your
PTA or SEPTA to distribute the flyer. Ask the school to include the Yellow
Pages Flyer in your school newspaper too!

Yellow
Pages Flyers are great to distribute at conferences, seminars, training
programs, and workshops.

The
Special Ed Advocate is a free online newsletter about special education
legal and advocacy issues, cases, and tactics and strategies. Subscribers
receive "alerts" about new cases, events, and special offers
on Wrightslaw books.